


The Sacrifices

by A_Fine_Piece



Series: A Thin Red Line [27]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, Gen, Legal Drama, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 16:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2588558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Fine_Piece/pseuds/A_Fine_Piece
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byakuya and Jūshirō plead for clemency on Renji's behalf. The Second Division sends men to place Rukia into confinement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sacrifices

"Where are we going?" Renji tempers what starts as a demand into a question. He feels he has earned it—the right to question Captain Kuchiki. He has followed Captain Kuchiki through the forests that surrounds Shihōin estate, through the hamlet that boarders on the city, and, finally, through the city toward the Second. Why the Second? He doesn't know. Why him and not Rukia, Captain Kuchiki's proper adjutant? Again, the captain has been very stingy with  _details_ . Important details? Menial details? It doesn't fucking matter. It's all the same to the Captain of the Sixth, who appears to be deep in thought.

What depths is he scouring for a solution? Again, Renji doesn't know. Ever reticent, ever tight-lipped and ever wearing the sternest of stares, Captain Kuchiki has not breathed a word of the purpose that draws them from the twins' celebration. Yet, as they reach the Second's large, imposing gate, Renji breaks.

"Where are we going?" he repeats.

"To plead for clemency," Captain Kuchiki murmurs, curtly.

Renji barely hears the answer over the roar of the gate opening in response to their presence. It takes him one, two, three seconds to fully comprehend the words and their meaning. "What?" he replies on a delay, his mind still  _processing_. "Wait! Clemency? For who?"

" _You_."

His eyes widen, and he stares into the back of Captain Kuchiki's head. In a second, his heart comes to a painful, thudding  _stop_. His blood runs icy in his veins, and his feet remain rooted to the ground. He cannot summon the nerve to  _move_. "What?" He speaks the word, so singular yet so plain, on a soft exhalation. He doubts the captain even hears him.

Whether Captain Kuchiki heard him or merely read the lines of his face, he answers, "Sometimes, Abarai, acting scrupulously is not  _enough_."

Renji's eyes widen to the size of saucers at this, and, suddenly, it hits him. It hits him  _hard_ , and it leaves him reeling, like a blow to the gut. In an instant, his world goes helter-skelter. Up feels down. Right feels wrong.

_I'm being punished for saving Rukia? How? Why?_

"Come," Byakuya orders and begins to cross into the Second. "Wartime measures have been enacted." Captain Kuchiki is just about to explain the situation further, but Renji interjects before the captain has the chance to expound.

"What does that mean?"

"The rule of law is as tenuous as it was at the Gotei 13's inception. Expect a battle, Abarai."

For some reason, Renji has a sinking feeling that the "battle" of which Captain Kuchiki speaks requires no swords or spells. Indeed, this battle is one that Renji feels wholly unprepared to fight.

* * *

Rukia watches the heated glances and barbed words fly like a thousand arrows. Most of them hit their targets. Some of them strike unintended individuals, drawing innocent bystanders into the fray.

Everything has gone to shit. There is no other way to characterize the situation. It's shitty, plain and simple.

A frothy ire simmers in the pit of her stomach as she watches the verbal assault.

If she hadn't absolutely  _loathed_  Aizen and his band of merry traitors  _before_ ,  _now_  she fucking despises them.

"Noble immunity will not protect you,  _princess_." Heavy emphasis on the "princess" part, which irks Rukia. She's not a  _princess_. She doesn't think of herself in those terms, and neither does anyone else. So why add fuel to the fire? It's not even particularly good accelerant.

While not a princess or even a Kuchiki by birth, Rukia has mastered the Kuchiki mask of indifference, and she brandishes it like a  _damn professional_. Cocky, she lifts her head, and she extends her arms, wrist-side up, to the burly man. She sure the hell isn't going to speak her consent, but, if he's sincere, he can  _try_  to apprehend her.

He sees her act of submission, and he does not move a muscle. Not even an inch. He sure looks like he wants to, though.

Just as Rukia thought. The man is all bark and no bite.  _Too scared?_  Probably. His fear, however, is likely warranted.

The coterie of friends, servants, and guards prove to be an effective  _deterrent_  to force. Words, however, appear to be wholesale.

"Where do you think you're taking her?" Ichigo is quick to step in front of Rukia, blocking her from the Second's solider.

"To containment. She's a high priority target."

"Target?" This time, it's Ishida, who sounds as an incredulous as he looks. "What do you mean by that?" From the keen look catching in the Quincy's stare, Rukia has a sinking suspicion that he has already discerned an answer. Now, Ishida is merely asking for confirmation.

"None of your damn business,  _human_." The Shinigami's lips curl into a snarl, and he throws his weight into Ishida, knocking the kid off kilter.

The brute's behavior doesn't faze the Quincy. He merely comports himself and shoots the Shinigami a cool stare. "As I thought. You don't know." Ishida refuses to balk at the strange soldier's demands. Instead, he tugs at the bottom of his shirt, stretching the cotton free of wrinkles.

The Second's man shoots Ishida a cruel stare before turning his attention to Ichigo. "Get outta the way,  _kid_."

Ichigo does not take well to this kind of treatment, nor should he. He just saved her and helped uncover a treacherous plot. In all fairness, the top brass should be singing the  _drifters_  praises instead of executing orders against them.

Before Ichigo can make a mess out of an already tense situation, Rukia intervenes. "Ichigo," she begins, voice measured and surprisingly calm, "stand down."

They want her in lock up at the Second? Then, they got it. There is simply no need to drag everyone else into this bureaucratic nightmare. She has full faith in her family and friends to sort out the details. Hell, she's been in worse places, facing worse fates. Containment isn't even that big of a deal. It's like a  _vacation_  in comparison to the last month, trapped like a canary and awaiting certain death.

"Rukia!" Ichigo isn't having any of her "stand down" nonsense. Not that she ever thought he would. Ichigo has shown himself to be a protective sort of fellow.

Rukia gives a small sigh. She appreciates it. She really does.  _But_ …. If she can't rely on her  _friends_  to take heed of her instructions, she'll just have to do it herself. And, with head up and eyes set to stun mode, she ducks under Ichigo's arm and offers herself up to the Second's solider.

"Wait!" This time it is Sister. Her presence ushers in a stale sense of calm.

The Second's man stops shorts, gapes at the sight of Lady Kuchiki, and bows deep and  _low_. He mutters a few incomprehensible words to the tatami as he sinks into his pose of obedience.

"Please," Hisana begins, voice soft and gentle. "Spare my sister. If confinement is all you seek, then Rukia's confinement may take place anywhere. Keep her locked away in the comfort of her own home. On my family's name, we will not allow her to be taken."

 _Taken?_  Rukia takes pause at her sister's use of language.  _Who would take me? Why would Sister even think this is a possibility?_

The Shinigami exhales a heavy breath. "Lady Kuchiki."

 _An oversight_ , Rukia thinks ironically to herself. The Shinigami probably didn't notice Hisana as he and his squad burst into Shihōin Estate, where they made quick use of the privately contracted guards stationed outside of the doors.  _What an idiot!_  Rukia shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

"Lady Kuchiki," the Shinigami's voice crawls up his throat, where it dies. When he rallies for another rousing round of kowtow to the noble, his breaths are all hard, shaky stops and starts, "I am afraid we must decline your request. Please, forgive me, milady." He flourishes his decision with another affected bow.

 _Oh, gag_. Rukia restrains the urge to roll her eyes. The amount of groveling that Brother's and Sister's rank commands never ceases to amaze her.

"I implore you to spare my sister this inconvenience. She has already been subjected to so much in such a short time through no fault of her own. It would be cruel and unprofessional to force an officer in good standing to submit to containment at the Second's behest."

The man stands, staring dumbly at Sister. His mind is working, Rukia can tell. But, apparently, he finds it difficult to summon words that will challenge a high-ranking noble. "I—I—I—" Between bouts of helpless stuttering, his gaze drops to the order clenched in his hand. The white sheet of paper is crinkled beyond recognition, but, despite this, his beady eyes probe the order as if he can divine some meaning from the rather straightforward command to  _bring Rukia Kuchiki to the Second for containment_.

Using this moment of hesitation as a prime opportunity, Hisana offers a gentle smile and begins again, "As you are aware, we are all required to submit to the Second's request for information later today." Smoothly, she places a conciliatory hand on the Shinigami's arm, and, without a word, she leads him to the door. "Perhaps we may ask for an amendment to this order,  _then_. I'm sure Captain Suì-Fēng will be sensitive to our plight and will oblige our request."

"And even if she doesn't—"

Rukia's eyes widen, and her head snaps to the side, where she finds an unfamiliar woman crossing into the room. Her disposition is decidedly  _direct_ , and she carries herself with the authority of a decorated commander. Her shoulders are level, and her gait is strong and swift, hips swaying loosely as she moves.

If Rukia didn't know better, she would think that the strange woman was none other than—

"Lady Yoruichi Shihōin!"

 _As if the soldier's groveling at Sister wasn't shameless enough_ …. Rukia folds her arms against her chest and gives a  _long_ ,  _slow_  shake of her head.  _How embarrassing. For him._

"Pl-pleas-please!" And, like that, the hulking Shinigami throws himself to the floor and titters like a giant, black puddle.

_What an idiot._

"Up on your feet,  _boy_ ," Yoruichi's cadence is quick, and her tongue is sharp. She is a woman who knows what she wants, and she prizes expediency and proficiency in the subordinates of her family's unit. And, this man? This soldier? Well, he leaves much to be desired.

"Ye-ye-yes, ma'am!" In a hurry, the man scrambles to stand. It isn't pretty, quick, or proficient, but he rises jittering muscle by jitterier muscle.

"You are a man of the Second?" Yoruichi inquires and walks a tight circle around him. Pressing her index finger against her lips, she examines him, staring long and hard as if it is a  _struggle_  to find anything encouraging to say.

"Yes. Yes, ma'am."

Scowling, Yoruichi turns her cheek and  _sighs_. Her breath is heavy with disappointment, and, wordlessly, she seemingly raises the question:  _What has happened to my division?_

"As you  _hopefully_  know, you come to  _my_  family residence without either invitation or reception. Now,  _leave_."

His lips part, and Rukia can just  _feel_  the man's cognitive overload. Clearly, he wishes to restate his purpose. He has an order to carry out, after all, and the  _current_  Captain of the Second isn't particularly known for her  _forgiving demeanor_. "Lady—"

"It wasn't a request," Yoruichi reminds him,  _pointedly_. " _Leave_."

The Second's man gives a few noncommittal grunts before he is on his way, empty-handed.

Gracefully, Hisana moves to the door, slides it shut, and stops for a breath. "You have my utmost respect and gratitude, Lady Shihōin." The words linger in the air, undisturbed, for a moment before Sister moves to acknowledge Yoruichi, who seems rather  _bemused_  at Hisana's choice of words.

"Yoruichi, please," the Shihōin Lady commands rather than suggests. "No need for formality."

Rukia stands, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. Her awe of Lady Shihōin is apparent. If she were a lesser soldier, she would be  _drooling_  over the noblewoman, but she manages to restrain her excitement. Just barely.

Not that anyone would fault Rukia Kuchiki for her idolization of such an esteemed member of society. Through the years, Yoruichi has become less historical figure and more  _myth_ —Captain of the Second, Commander of the Onmitsukidō, Head of one of the Four Great Families, Goddess of Flash, Brother's mentor, known for her fairness and cunning.

Indeed, Yoruichi Shihōin is impossibly accomplished and impossibly  _alive_ , a fact that still does not settle well with Rukia even despite having seen her days prior on the bridge. At the time, Rukia had chalked it up to a hallucination; her subconscious merely resurrected a God to rescue Ichigo from Certain Death at Brother's hands.

But, it hadn't been a hallucination. Yoruichi is very much alive and very much in command of the situation.

Hisana bows her head politely. A soft smile plays across her lips. "Of course, Lady Yoruichi. It is a pleasure to meet you free of your  _previous_ incarnation." Sister's voice has a slick slyness to it that underscores the ambiguity of her sentiments.

Yoruichi cocks a brow and smirks in reply.

 _Previous state?_  Rukia wonders to herself.  _Is sister referring to the Lady's reported death? That doesn't seem right…._

"Yoruichi, what is going on?" Ichigo is quick to capitalize on the dull moment. His question injects a heady dose of dire concern.

Silence falls. It is grave. It is grim. It is deafening.

"Come," Yoruichi murmurs, turning on her heel and leading the way. "We shall discuss all of this, but not here."

"Then where?" Ichigo is becoming agitated at Yoruichi's obvious evasiveness.

"Some place where the walls will keep our secrets."

* * *

The Hall of Cloisters is a chamber buried deep in the earth. It is dark, so dark that light cannot adequately pierce the velvety blacks that drape across the occupants. The air is thick and stale. It smells of earth and stone. It slides down the throat to the lungs, where it settles, threatening to provoke a coughing fit at any moment.

Byakuya has never been here. He has never seen the Hall of Cloisters with his own eyes. He has read about it, and his father and grandfather told him stories from days past. Under an early charter of the Gotei 13, the Second Division had the power to court martial, prosecute, and punish traitors. Punishment often involved the execution pits. Those, too, had long been outlawed before his time.

"We are all assembled?" Captain-Commander Yamamoto stands proud at the head of that inky, dank room. Wordlessly, he glances down the line of captain and vice captains.

All are in attendance.

All, that is, except for the three traitorous captains. Their absence is keenly observed, even more acutely felt. Even the Captain-Commander's wizened stare lingers over the empty space that Aizen once occupied. He does not speak words of contempt, though no one doubts that they are there, right on the tip of his tongue.

Byakuya and Renji stand outside of the usual configuration of captains and vice captains. Instead, they face the Captain-Commander at the opposite end of the line.

It is then that Renji finally notices that Byakuya does not don the usual raiment of his rank. No. Gone are the Captain's haori and the black and white silks of the Shihakushō. The good captain garbs himself in the cool fabric of a nobleman.

For a moment, Renji wonders at this.

Captain Kuchiki is a very  _deliberate_  man. It is by choice that Byakuya refused his captain's vestments. But, why? Renji is still puzzling through that when the Captain-Commander begins the meeting.

"It goes without saying that the charges leveled against Lord Kuchiki and Lady Kuchiki fall under noble immunity." Yamamoto speaks in stark clarity. His voice, deep and rich, breaks over the council, demanding their instant understanding and full cooperation.

Only Captain Suì-Fēng dares to flinch at the pronouncement, turning her head with a sneer.

Under normal circumstances, Renji would share in the Captain's sentiments. Coming from less than nothing, himself, Renji cannot abide the customs of either  _noble privilege_ or  _noble immunity_. What makes them so perfect, anyway? What makes them so deserving of reprieve from the law? What makes everyone else less deserving of understanding? Nothing, that's what!

But, right then—right there—Renji  _gets_  it. Noble immunity, when employed properly, affords flexibility to the ones who are  _supposed_  to be the guardians of justice. So few noblemen, however,  _are_  just, and even fewer use the immunity for such righteous purposes.

"Do you object to this finding, Lord Kuchiki?"

Renji's ears prickle. He missed it the first time, but not then.  _Lord Kuchiki. That's not right. It's Captain Kuchiki, isn't? They haven't stripped him of his rank, have they?_

Immediately, Renji's gaze fixes the fall of Lord Kuchiki's light blue haori. Nothing seems to make sense. If the Gotei 13 had stripped Captain Kuchiki of his rank, that would've made news. Right? Someone would've mentioned it. Rukia, at the very least, would've been in hysterics. And, there haven't been any Captains' Councils since the betrayal. No. Most of the captains were tethered to machines at the Fourth shortly after Aizen's defection.

So…. What gives?

"Neither Lady Kuchiki nor I object."

Captain-Commander then sets his steely gaze to Renji. "Step forward, Vice Captain."

As commanded, Renji springs forward a step, heart beating at his throat, and blooding pounding in his ears. Shit! He doesn't know what to say. No prepared statements. No colloquies.  _Nothing_.

_Fuck! What am I going to say?_

In wide-eyed panic, he stares ahead of him, praying that he will have a stroke of genius. Hell, at this point, he'd settle for an  _actual_  stroke, anything to buy him some time to find his composure and some sort of cogent argument for why they shouldn't declare him a traitor and toss him into the Maggot's Nest or worse.

"What do you have to say for your actions?" Captain-Commander does not sound too  _understanding_.

Renji just stares into the ether, struggling to string together  _something coherent_. Nope. All he has is, 'Fuck off,' and hell if that's going to work to do anything  _but_  hasten his demise.

"I take full responsibility for Vice Captain Abarai's actions," Captain Kuchiki intervenes in his calm tenor. "I am his better in both rank and social standing. It was under my command that he interfered in the execution."

 _A lie_ , Renji thinks to himself.  _A damn convincing one_. One that Renji would not dare to correct for fear of the aspersions it may cast upon Captain Kuchiki's virtue.

"You mean to tell me that Vice Captain Abarai would not have intervened had it not been for your order?" Captain-Commander sounds incredulous, which is only reasonable. It's not as if Renji and Rukia's friendship hasn't been well-documented. They came to the Academy together. They entered the ranks together. They go to all the events together. She's like family. He'd do anything to protect her.  _Anything_.

"He was imprisoned shortly before the execution. It was on my word that he was released."

Feeling the chill of his muscles locking, Renji's gaze flicks over to Captain Kuchiki. It is a lie. Lady Kuchiki released him, and, unquestioningly, he followed her to Shihōin estate, where they obtained the relic. Captain Kuchiki was perfectly out of the loop until Renji ran into him outside the execution site.

"It was on your word, then, that the Shihōin released their shield to your family?"

"Yes." Byakuya never hesitates, never even blinks. He is the portrait of cool truthfulness, which horrifies the  _shit_  out of Renji.

 _The rumors—they're all true. The Kuchikis are cold-blooded._  Renji can hardly believe it. Yet, at the same time, it doesn't surprise him. The Lady had requested the  _heads_  of the men who dared to  _cross_  her husband. At the time it didn't seem that  _severe_ , but, now, with  _context_ , it does.

Apparently, Captain Kuchiki is not of a mind to believe service to the Gotei 13 comes before all else, an opinion that runs contrary to a great number of those in attendance today. Then, it finally dawns on Abarai—the reason why Captain Kuchiki chose the silks of his nobility over the silks of his rank—Captain Kuchiki has chosen his family over his military obligations. Perhaps the Captain-Commander observed this subtly either consciously or subconsciously?

"Then what of Lady Kuchiki's involvement?" Captain-Commander's cadence slows and the creases lining his forehead begin to diminish. He has his concerns, no doubt, but Byakuya's confidence assuages his skepticism.

"On my request, Captain-Commander, Lady Kuchiki escorted me to the—excuse me, what  _once was the_ —Central 46 Chambers. She saw firsthand the betrayal. While she may not have known the extent of the treason, she was aware that her sister's execution orders were fabricated," Captain Ukitake's gentle voice cuts through the stale air like an autumn breeze. "I told her to inform Captain Kuchiki of this treachery. As both Captain Kuchiki's Vice Captain and I was indisposed, I offered my Vice Captain's services to Captain Kuchiki."

"Vice Captain Abarai had no intention to commit treasonous or seditious acts against the Gotei 13," Byakuya reasons calmly. "His actions were the result of obeying the proper chain of command."

"Indeed, one might say that Renji carried out justice while many of us were being manipulated to carry out seditious orders." Only Ukitake could make such an incendiary statement sound so light and breezy, without a hint of accusation.

A wave of wintry confusion paralyzes Renji as he absorbs the revisionists' history. And he doesn't doubt for a  _second_  that either Captains Kuchiki or Ukitake mistake their story as truth, but… There it is. Forever written. Someone, somewhere will likely catalogue the proceedings in some book as the Unqualified Truth.

_Sometimes, Abarai, acting scrupulously is not enough._

Captain Kuchiki's words, once so cryptically spun, now seem particularly salient. Sometimes you break the rules to maintain order, to prevent the rendering of immoral judgments. Sometimes good isn't good enough, and sometimes acts that are ordinarily reserved for contempt alone are necessary to uphold what is just and right.

"Very well. Vice Captain Abarai, your previous sentence has been suspended, and I acquit you of the charges, sedition and treason. Does anyone object to this decision?"

Unsurprisingly, no one speaks a word to the contrary, and the Captain-Commander turns to the next issue. "I believe Captain Suì-Fēng has made several requests on behalf of the Second Division: First, she requests for an inquiry of those with personal knowledge of the defectors and of the events leading up to the rebellion. Second, she requests for Vice Captain Kuchiki to be taken into custody for reasons related to the public safety and welfare."

With a look, Byakuya dismisses Renji to assume his rightful place behind Captain Ukitake. Renji bows low to Captain Kuchiki, hoping to telegraph his immense gratitude as he does so.

"Yes," Captain Suì-Fēng begins, breast puffed out and head up. Before she has a chance to speak another word, her explanation comes to an abrupt stop.

"I will not submit to any of this." Byakuya is unusually firm in his response. His normal austerity chips away to reveal a restrained animosity hiding behind his stare.

Renji watches, quiet as a church mouse. No use in stirring the pot, he thinks. No one in the room—from Captain Suì-Fēng to his normally placid Captain—appears exactly  _pleased_.

"Do not be obstinate, Captain Kuchiki." Suì-Fēng stands with arms folded against her chest and chin jerked up to the left. She broadcasts her displeasure with admirable  _gusto_ , refusing to spare Byakuya even the slightest of glances. "The requests are reasonable, narrowly tailored to fit specific purposes, and, most of all,  _necessary_."

Renji doesn't miss Suì-Fēng's embellishment on the last the word. It leaves her mouth in a crisp, cutting tone.  _Necessary_  seemingly begins and ends the conversation. If Captain Kuchiki is to fulfill his duty to the Gotei 13, he will submit to what is  _necessary_.

Byakuya does not even blink. He's made his intentions crystalline. "There is nothing  _necessary_  about these requests."

Renji catches the amused exchange of glances between Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyōraku. From the looks of it, Captain Kuchiki's argumentativeness is quite the novelty, a fact that Renji does not doubt. Not for a second.

"The drifters and your family may have information that would be quite helpful to uncover Aizen's motives," Suì-Fēng reasons.

"Aizen's motives are apparent," he states rather pointedly, but Captain Suì-Fēng is not so easily deterred.

"But his methods are not."

"Subject the drifters to your inquisition, then."

"Rukia is Aizen's primary target. It would be foolish to exclude members of your family from this inquiry." Her lips curve into a frown, and she scowls at the thought of losing the opportunity to question Rukia.

As much as Renji hates to admit it, Captain Suì-Fēng makes a good deal of sense. No one really understands Aizen's objective. He was too far away to hear Aizen's long-winded  _monologue_ , and, even if he had been close enough to hear, he wouldn't have understood it. Blood loss and exhaustion stole the sense from him on that day. Ichigo might better know, as he was closer.

 _But still…._  He cannot abide the Second's plan to lock Rukia away until the whole Aizen thing is sorted out. Even if Aizen were to return for Rukia—a fact which assumes she still has something he desires—very few could actually stop him, and, among those who could give Aizen a compelling pause, it definitely would not be some low-level guards.

"The inquiry is only the beginning," Byakuya states, flatly.

 _Ah_ , Renji thinks to himself as he follows the threads of their conversation.  _Captain Kuchiki and Captain Suì-Fēng are haggling._

Suì-Fēng's gives Captain Kuchiki a menacing side-eye. Certainly, she knows Byakuya's ploy. It's probably the same ploy she was banking on for herself. "Fine," she growls, as if she is doing  _him_  a  _favor_ , "We won't place Rukia Kuchiki in solitary as long as she receives a personal detail in the interim.  _But—_ "

Renji perks up with baited breath as he waits for the  _catch_.

"—she will testify at the hearing."

Byakuya's fortressed visage only becomes even more inscrutable as he considers the Captain's proposal. He closes his eyes and exhales a heavy breath, "Very well." Resignation rings heavy in his voice.

 _Well played, Captain_.  _Well played_.

Scowling, Captain Suì-Fēng inclines her head and inhales a deep breath. "The hearing will begin promptly in 1800 hours."


End file.
